Optical bonding, which is used to ruggedize flight deck displays, is making the leap to the passenger experience environment as Rockwell Collins introduces the technology to airports.

The big advantage of using this lamination process in airport displays is that the monitors are “very readable in direct sunlight”, Rockwell engineering director Michael Brown told RGN during the recent Future Travel Experience Global 2014 conference in Las Vegas. Rockwell uses a “dry bond” approach to directly couple substrates to displays.

“If you go into many airports today, they are built with a lot of glass that lets in a lot of natural sunlight. And when that sunlight comes in on a traditional display, there is a lot of glare.” Bonding “all but eliminates that glare effect and allows you to read this in normal sunlight conditions”, he adds.

Though Rockwell is seeking its first airport customer for this bonding technology, it has already brought the innovation to the medical industry, ground vehicles for the military, handheld devices for controlling drones in the military, and even a car wash kiosk – another high light environment.

See our full video interview with Brown below.